KOCHI: In a setback to CPM, the CBI court in Kochi on Thursday dismissed the discharge petitions filed by left party leaders P Jayarajan and TV Rajesh in the case related to the murder of Muslim League activist Ariyil Shukoor at Kannapuram, Kannur in February 2012.
Jayarajan and Rajesh who are 32nd and 33rd accused in the case had approached the court claiming that no evidence emerged regarding their role in the case.
However, when the petition was considered by the court, the CBI submitted that Shukoor was murdered in retaliation attack on the vehicle in which Jayrajan and Rajesh were travelling at Pattuvam. The conspiracy was hatched by six accused persons including Jayarajan and Rajesh at a hospital where CPM leaders were undergoing treatment after the attack.
After reviewing the evidence, the court found that there was enough evidence against the duo and ordered that they cannot be discharged from the case now.
Ariyil Abdul Shukoor was held hostage by a group and murdered in broad daylight at Ariyil near Pattuvam on February 20, 2012. Sukhoor's family members had also approached the court objecting to discharging both CPM leaders from the case.